Heat-insulating wall.



C. J. COLEMAN. HEAT INSULATING WALL;

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9. 1908. RENEWED MAR. 22, 1917;

n eieemeo Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

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CLYDE J'. COLEMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

ISKO, INCORPORATED, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

HEAT-INSULATING WALL.

Patented Sept. 11, 11917.

Application filed July 9, 1908, Serial No. 442,751. Renewed March 22, 1917. Serial No. 156,801.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLYDE J. COLEMAN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, in the county of New York'and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Heat-Insulating Walls, of which the followin is a specification, reference being had t erein to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

My invention relates generally to heat insulation and relates particularly to heat insulating walls of substantially large dimensions, such as of refrigerator cars, cold storage buildings, household refrigerators and compartments and the like. The objects of my invention are to secure highly effective heat insulation-together with a simple and inexpensive construction and also to secure flexibility of the heat insulating walls- My invention also has other objects and advantages which will appear from the following description.

My present invention is related in a general way to my former inventions, which are the subject of Letters Patent, No. 946,772, dated January 18, 1910, No. 946,7 73, dated January 18, 1910, No. 948,541, dated February 8, 1910, No. 958,095, dated May 17, 1910, and'No. 984,541, dated February 21, 1911. My inventions aforesaid all employ vacuum inclosing bodies or a plurality of units which inclose a vacuum as a part of the heat insulating construction. The high efliciency of a vacuum as a heat insulator has been long known, but rior to my said inventions no practical em odiment of the same had been made in heat insulating walls of any considerable size and adapted to the uses above noted. My present invention is directed to producing a highly effective heat insulating wall of any deslred size and possessing the requisite flexibility and includes vacuum spaces in its construction as a principal part of the heat insulation. To these ends, my invention includes, in combination vacuum inclosing tubular units of substantially elliptical or double convex cross-section. My invention also includes a heat insulating wall formed by arranging hese vacuum inclosing units or tubes 11; layers insubstantial parallelism with the plane of the wall and interposing low heat conductive material between the layers. My invention also includes several details of construction and other advantageous features which will hereinafter appear.

I shall now describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawings and shall thereafter point out my invention in claims.

Figure 1 is an end view of the sealing tip end of one of the vacuum inclosing tubes.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same.

' Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the same in the direction of its width.

Fig. 5 is a transverse horizontal section of a heat insulating wall embodying my invention.

Fig. 6 is an elevation on a reduced scale of the heat insulating wall shown in Fig. 5 with portions broken away.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a slightly modified vacuum inclosing tube.

Fig. 8 is a transverse section of the same.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, of the draw-, ings, vacuum inclosing bodies or vacuum inclosing tubes are provided. These tubes are of double convex or substantially elliptical cross-section, the cross-section of the tubes being oblong with oppositely outwardly curved side walls, as may be seen in Figs.

1, 3 and 5, and are disposed in substantial parallelism with the plane of the wall and are arranged side by side and end to end adjacent to and substantially in contact one with another to form a layer extending substantially parallel with the plane of the wall. The vacuum inclosing tubes include in their construction a pressure-resisting shell 1 and a cushioning strip 2 forming a border along the edges of the transversely oblong shell 1 and adherently secured thereto. The cushioning strips 2 cushion the vacuum inclosing bodies or tubes one from another transversely when such bodies or tubes are arranged in contact one with another to form a layer, as above described. The vacuum inclosing tubes in the layer are cushioned one from another endwise by interposed gaskets 3 (Fig. 6), the ends of the shells 1 being substantially flat, as shown in the drawings.

A plurality of layers of vacuum inclosing units or tubes are provided extending sub stantially parallel with the plane of the wall, and the layers are slightly spaced one from another, as best seen in Fig. 5, two such the drawings.

layers being shown in the heatinsulating wall illustrated in the drawings. The elliptical or double convex tubes are arranged so that the tubes or units of one layer break joints with the tubes or units of the other layer (Figs. 5 and 6). Supports 4 and 5 are provided for the layers at the outside thereof and slightly spaced therefrom and fillers 'of low heat conductive material are provided for the'space between the layers and for the spaces between the outer sides of the layers and the supports 4 and 5. The support 4 forms the outer part of the wall and may be the siding of the building or of a car or other inclosure, and the support 5 forms the inner part of the wall and may be the ceiling or inner facing of the wall.

The low heat conductive filling between the layers and for the spaces between the outer sides of the layers and the supports 4 and 5 are shown as sheets 6, which may be composed ofany suitable material. Wool felt produces good results, and that is the material used in the construction illustrated The sheets 6 should possess suificient looseness of structure and should be sufliciently yielding to readily conform to the convexly curved or outwardly rounded surfaces of the vacuum inclosing units or tubes, as shown in Fig. 5.

Such conformation in the sheet between the two'layers of vacuum inclosing tubes is:

and this offset arrangement also obviously adds to the heat insulating properties of the wall. Merely for convenience in building or laying up the wall structure the vacuum inclosing tubes are shown in the drawings as arranged on end or vertically; The cushioning strips 2.may be composed of thin paper and may be secured to the shell 1 by end cushions 3 may be composed of paper or other suitable material. The shell 1 is composed of pressure-resisting low heat conductive material, and as this shell is sealed by fusing, it is formed of vitreous material,

. such as glass, asindicated in the drawings.

The transversely oblong tubular shell 1 is provided substantially centrally of one of its ends with a sealing tip 7 which is located in a circular depression formed in one of the flat end walls (Figs. land 4) and projects outwardly from the bottom of the depression and is protected by the rim or border of-the depression which forms'a protective shoulder around the sealing tip. The sealing tip 7 is thus out of the way and protected from injury and does not interfere with assembling the vacuum inclosing units or tubes in a wall structure.

The alternate arrangement of layers of double convex or substantially elliptical vacuum inclosing tubes and the low heat conductive filling sheets produces moreeffective heat insulation than either the one or the other would without the other. The resilient sheets securely retain in place the vacuum inclosing tubes, and as there are no air-containing cavities or openings in the wall there can be no convection air currents. To prevent heat radiation across the vacua the shells 1 ofthe vacuum inclosing tubes are provided on the inside with a reflecting surface, such as a silvered surface, and such reflecting surface may be provided on the outside or on'both sides of the shells 1 if so desired.

Because of the comparatively small size of the vacuum inclosing units and the manner in which they are combined in the wall structure, it is evident that the heat insulating wall will possess suflicient flexibility to accommodate itself to all ordinary bending.

vacuum inclosing unit or vacuum inclosing tube illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 differs from that above described only in the fact that such modified unit or tubes are proportionately longer. These modified units comprise a double convex vacuum inclosing vitreous shell 8 and cushioning strips 9 adherently secured to the edges thereof;

.It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the constructions shown and principle and scopeof my invention;

1. A heat insulating wall comprising vacuum inclosing bodies of oblong crossabove particularly described within the.

section having closed ends and oppositely outwardly curved side walls and assembled in substantial parallelism with the plane of the wall. an" adhesive such as sizing. The gaskets or 2. A heat insulating wall comprising transversely oblong vacuum inclosing tubes having closed ends and oppositely outwardly curved sidewalls and assembled adjacently' and in substantial parallelism one with an-' other.

3. A heat insulating wall comprising an assemblage of transversely oblong vacuum inclosing bodies having closed ends and oppositely outwardly curved side walls and arranged in the wall in overlapping relation one with another.

4. A heat insulating wall comprising vacuum! inclosing bodies of oblong cross-section having closed ends and oppositely outwardly curved side walls assembled with their longer transverse axes in substantial parallelism with the plane of the wall and arranged adjacent one with another to form a plurality of .layers spaced apart with the bodies in one layerjbreaking joints with the 139 conductive filler interposed between the layers.

5. A heat insulating wall comprising vacuum inclosing tubes of oblong cross-section having closed ends and oppositely outwardly curved side walls assembled with their longer transverse axes in substantial parallelism with the plane of the wall and arranged adjacent one with another to form a plurality of layers spaced apart and with the tubes in one layer breaking joints with the tubes in an'adjacent layer, and a low heat conductive filler interposed between the layers.

6. A heat insulating wall comprising vacuum inclosing bodies of oblong crosssection having closed ends and oppositely outwardly curved side walls assembled with their longer transverse axes in substantial parallelismwvith the plane of the wall and arranged adjacent one with another to form a plurality of layers spaced apart and with the bodies in one layer breaking joints with the bodies in an adjacent layer, supports outside of the outer layers and spaced therefrom, and low heat conductive filling material interposed between the layers and between the outside layers and the supports.

7. A heat insulating wall comprising vacuum inclosing tubes of oblong crosssection having closed ends and oppositely outwardly curved side walls assembled with their longer transverse axes in substantial parallelism with the plane of the wall and arranged adjacent one with another to form a plurality of layers spaced apart with the tubes-in one layer breaking joints with the tubes in an adjacent layer, supports outside of the outer layers and spaced therefrom, and low heat conductive filling material 1nterp,osed between the layers and between the outside layers and the supports.

8. Aheat insulating wall comprisingvacuum inclosing tubes of oblong cross-section having closed ends and oppositely outwardly curved side walls assembled with their longer transverse axes in substantial parallelism with the plane of the Wall, each of the tubes being provided with cushioning strips ad herently secured to its edges, the tubes being arranged, adjacent one with another to form a plurality of layers spaced apart with the tubes in one layer breaking joints with the tubes in an adjacent layer, supports outside of the outer layers and spaced therefrom, and low heat conductive filling material interposed between the layers and between the outside layersand the supports.

9. A heat insulating wall comprising vacuum inclosing tubes of oblong crosssection having closed ends and oppositely outwardly curved side walls assembled with their longertransverse axes in substantial parallelism with the plane of the wall, each of the tubes being provided with cushioning strips adherently secured to its edges. the tubes being arranged adjacent one with another to form a plurality of layers spaced apart with the tubes in one layer breaking joints with the tubes in an adjacent layer, supports outside of the outer layers and spaced therefrom, low heat conductive filling material interposed between the layers and between the outside layers and the supports, and cushioning gaskets interposed between adjacent ends of the tubes.

10. A heat insulating wall comprising an assemblage of transversely oblong vacuum inclosing bodies having closed ends and oppositely outwardly curved side walls and arranged in the wall in overlapping relation one with another, and low heat conductive material in which the vacuum inclosing bodies are embedded.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLYDE J. COLEMAN.

Vitnesses:

Bnnxann COWEN, lVM. AsHLnY KELLY. 

